Wild Kratts, Season 3, Episode 8: Time to Flamingo!
by ShorinRyuKarateKobudo
Summary: The Wild Kratts are off to study the Lesser Flamingos at a hot, toxic soda lake that's considered too corrosive for any other creature to live in. The Kratt brothers aimed to discover how they cope with such harsh environment while battling drought and predators.


Location: Kenya

Featured animals: Lesser Flamingo, Brine Shrimp, Marabou Stork, Lappet-faced Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Spotted Hyena, Black-backed Jackal, Olive Baboon, and African Fish Eagle

Mentioned animals: Greater Flamingo, American Flamingo, Andean Flamingo, Chilean Flamingo, and Puna Flamingo

Villains of the week: none

Animal names: Hot Pink, Shrimpy

The Wild Kratts are completely exhausted from their missions to fight off villains. Chris and Martin lounge around like they want to do nothing, Jimmy sits at his monitor to play his videogames, Koki isn't touching her computer, Brandon is still meditating, and Aviva was just lying down on her work station.

"Oh man, I didn't think working for Area 51 would be so much work," said Martin, "I mean, I like the fact how we are saving more creatures from more villains, but I can't have any fun while doing so."

"Look at it this way, bro," said Chris, "Our goal is to save creatures from the bad guys, and that's what we've been doing. So as long as we keep doing this, we're staying true to our goal."

"He's right," said Aviva getting up from her work station, "even I'm exhausted from all this, but the creatures need our help, and we must do whatever it takes to save them."

"I have an idea," said Koki also getting up from her station, "Why don't we go on a Creature Adventure to get our minds off of this?"

"Sounds good to me," said Chris, "and I know where to start." He looks down to see a small-sized lake with lesser flamingoes.

The Tortuga lands far away from the lake and the entire Wild Kratts go to the lake, analyzing the water.

"Yup, the pH level of this lake is high because of the concentration of sodium carbonate," said Koki looking at a monitor that's analyzing the lake water, "This soda lake is very alkaline, like will eat your flesh to your bone corrosive."

"Well, it's a good thing we parked the Tortuga far enough so the corrosive water doesn't damage it," said Aviva, "But how are those flamingoes able to survive living in that lake without burning themselves?"

"Sounds like a mystery worth investigating!" said Martin.

"Well we can't get any close enough, the water is too toxic," said Chris.

"I have an idea," said Brandon, "Why not use the Amphisub and miniaturize so that you can get a closer look at them?"

"That's a great idea," said Chris, "Except that water could damage the sub."

"While I may not have enough time and resources to make the Tortuga resistant to corrosion, I can do that for the Arthropod sub," said Aviva, "Just give me some time."

Aviva eventually finishes remodeling the Amphisub and sets it onto the Miniaturizer.

"Okay, Kratt brothers, the Amphisub is all set," said Aviva, "Jimmy will just miniaturize all of you once you get in."

"We're on it," said the brothers who get into the sub and get miniaturized. Aviva then picks them up with her robotic arm and drops them into the lake.

"Alright, time to see some flamingoes!" said Martin as he and Chris head off from there.

"Okay, so what exactly are flamingoes?" Jimmy asked.

"Flamingoes are large, wading birds, similar to herons and cranes," said Brandon who pulls out a holographic clip of some flamingoes, "There are six species of them: the Greater, the American, the Andean, the Chilean, the Puna, and the ones here are called the lesser flamingoes. They may be the smallest of the flamingo species, but they are the only ones that live in this type of environment."

"Cool," said Jimmy.

"You know, flamingoes are pretty awesome, afterall," said Koki.

"I'm so excited to see some flamingoes and understand what gives them the ability to live in such a hostile environment," said Chris.

"Try to find out how the flamingoes are able to cope with the corrosive lake," said Aviva through the monitor, "so that I can make you guys flamingo creature powers."

"Awesome!" said the brothers who stumble upon a mass of algae.

"Whoa, algae," said Chris, "It's like a forest of algae."

"Algae," said Aviva, "in a soda lake?"

"Yup," said Chris, "These cyanobacteria can live in any environment, as long as they get plenty of sunlight."

Some brine shrimp pop up to the algae.

"And look!" said Martin pointing at the brine shrimp, "Brine shrimp!"

"Brine shrimp, another creature that can live in the soda lake," said Chris, "And, they also feed on the algae."

"Brine shrimp, how amazing," said Aviva watching through the monitor.

"And here comes the flamingos!" said Martin as they watch the flamingos feed on the algae.

"Hehehe, alright then, we have a lot of mysteries to solve about the flamingo," said Aviva back in the Tortuga, "Like how does it cope with the dangerous soda lake, why are they pink, how do they feed, and how do they make a living here."

"Hmm?" said Koki, also back in the Tortuga, "Flamingos are pink because of their pigmentation, that's not really much."

"Actually, that's not the case," said Brandon who pulls out clips of white and pale pink lesser flamingos, "These captive flamingos are the same species as the wild ones but are whiter or more pale. The reason being is because they get their pink from the food they eat."

"Wow, now that defines as 'you are what you eat'," said Jimmy.

"Wait, so the algae actually turn their feathers pink?" said Koki, "But they're green. Why aren't the flamingos green, then?"

"That's because it's not the green chloroplast in the algae that makes the flamingo turn pink," said Brandon, "It's the photosynthetic pigments that give the flamingos their pink feathers."

"Oh I see, now," said Koki.

"Wow, look at them go," said Martin watching the flamingo feed through the mass of algae.

"They have to be using something to scoop up those algae and shrimp," said Chris observing, "Let's have a closer look."

The brothers moved closer and analyzed to beak.

"I don't believe my eyes," said Martin surprised, "hair!"

"Hmm, hair in their beaks?" said Koki all confused, "Well, I've heard of some birds with teeth, but hair is just crazy."

"It's not that kind of hair, Koki," said Chris, "It's called lamellae, a hairy-like structure used so that the flamingoes can filter-feed. This feeding mechanism allows them to feed on tiny things like the algae or shrimp."

"Filter-feeding? How does that work?" Jimmy asked.

"It works like this," said Koki who pulls out an animation clip of the flamingo's beak inside, "The flamingo first intakes mud or silt that contains the organisms they feed on. Then, as the flamingo removes the silt or mud, the lamellae catch the food and the flamingo gets its meal."

"Wow, so that's filter-feeding, huh," said Jimmy.

"And the shape of the flamingo's beak suits perfectly for their style of feeding," said Martin.

"I'd better add that to the flamingo powers," said Aviva inventing the creature power disks.

"So we found out what makes them pink and how they feed," said Koki, "Now let's figure out how they can stand living in water that can eat human flesh."

"Time for a closer look," said Chris moving the Amphisub closer to a flamingo's leg

"Time to analyze," said Chris analyzing the skin on the flamingo's leg, "Wow, the skin is incredibly resilient to the corrosive soda lake."

"I'll say, but we're not sure why," said Martin, "It's kinda like those gloves that are made of latex or nitrile."

"But even those gloves don't last forever," said Aviva, "They usually only last for a couple of hours before the chemicals can get through."

"And those flamingoes look as if they can stand there forever," said Koki.

"We'll have to find a composite material that can resist the corrosion effect of the sodium carbonated water for a long period of time," said Chris.

"I guess I can make a composite material made of latex and nitrile," said Aviva, "but I can't guarantee you that it will protect you completely."

"We'll just have to put our faith in you," said Martin.

The Amphisub gets picked up by a flamingo and the Kratt brothers toss and turn in the sub.

"Whoa! Talk about a close-up," said Martin looking into the flamingo's mouth, "Look at that tongue, the most important part of the flamingo to help it feed."

"Don't forget the neck," said Chris, "With its long, flexible neck, the flamingo can bend down and swivel side to side to collect food."

"Better add those features, too," said Aviva.

"You're tall and live in a hot, corrosive lake," said Martin, "I'll call you Hot Pink!"

"Now that's a cool name, Martin," said Chris.

Hot Pink then drops the Amphisub, with the brothers in it, in her nest and the brothers say "Oww!"

The brothers exit the sub, "Talk about a crash landing," said Chris.

"Chris! Do you know what we're on!?" said Martin all excited.

"No, what is this place?" Chris asked.

"It's a flamingo nest, made of mud!" said Martin, "Flamingoes build these nests so they can raise their chicks high up from the water, and here's one right now."

A flamingo chick appears climbing up the mud mound and starts squawking and flapping his wings.

"Aww, he's so cute!" said Aviva, "And he's gray? I thought flamingoes are pink?"

"They are, but since he's only a chick, he needs to eat lots of algae and brine shrimp in order develop those pink feathers," said Chris.

"But for now, he'll have to settle with feeding on mom's fluid," said Martin as Hot Pink feeds her chick, "I think I'll call this little one Shrimpy, because you'll need to eat a lot in order for you to grow and turn pink."

"But why are the flamingoes raising their young in the middle of the lake?" Koki asked, "Wouldn't the corrosive water be too unsafe for the eggs? Wouldn't it be better to lay their eggs more inland?"

"That maybe," said Brandon pointing at a spotted hyena prowling at the edge of the lake, "If they can avoid having their chicks get predated by a predator like that."

"Oh, so the lake acts like a barrier to keep the young safe," said Koki.

"Pretty much," said Brandon.

"Its fun watching how they move," said Jimmy, "It's almost like they're dancing."

"Great idea, Jimmy!" said Martin, "Everyone, it's time to flamingo!"

Music plays and everyone dances to the movements of the flamingo.

The flamingoes start to congregate and move in unison.

"Hmm, what are they doing," Aviva wondered.

"It looks like they're about to take off," said Chris.

"What!? But we have yet to learn more about them," said Martin.

"And learn about them you shall," said Aviva with two pink flamingo Creature Power Discs, "Jimmy, head up!"

Aviva tosses the discs to the teleporter and Jimmy teleports them with his remote controller, "It's outta here."

The Kratt brothers receive the Creature Power Discs, "Alright!"

They insert the disk into their creature power suit, touched Shrimpy, and press the button on their suit, shouting "Activate Creature Power Suit!" and turn into green and blue copies of the lesser flamingo.

The flamingoes fly off.

"Let's follow them!" said Chris as he and Martin fly off with the flock.

"I hope the flamingo chicks will be okay on their own," said Koki.

"Oh they'll be fine," said Jimmy.

"Yeah, he's right," said Aviva, "As long as the flamingo chicks stay in the lake, they're safe from predators."

Back with the brothers…

"Wow, these birds are powerful fliers," said Chris.

"I'll say," said Martin, "Flamingoes can fly for miles long."

"But where to?" Chris wondered.

Then, an African Fish Eagle appears to the scene and flies toward the flock.

"Definitely not to that!" said Martin.

"Whoa, an African Fish Eagle," said Chris, "Normally, they hunt exclusively fish."

"Unless fish has become scarce due to drought," said Martin, "Then they'll have to look for alternative food sources."

The eagle hovers over the flock, scanning for a target.

"Whew, the good thing about living in a huge group is that predators have a hard time trying to pick out prey, since all that the eagle sees is a mass of pink," said Chris.

"Yeah, but that eagle has its sights on Hot Pink," said Martin.

The eagle swoops after Hot Pink.

"We cannot let the eagle get Hot Pink, or else Shrimpy won't survive without his mom," said Martin.

"Evasive maneuver!" said Chris as he and Martin put themselves in place of the eagle's prey.

The eagle changes targets and goes after Chris and Martin.

"We have to shake this eagle away," said Chris.

"Quick, let's perform our signature move!" said Martin.

"I'm with you, bro," said Chris.

The brothers performed a series of acrobatic moves that evades the eagle's attacks and confuses the eagle, forcing it to retreat.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" said Martin.

"I'll say," said Chris, "but I'm worried. If what you say is true, then…"

Back at the soda lake, the heat intensifies, evaporating the lake faster by the hour until nearly completely dry. The vapor from the lake builds up on top of the lake.

"Guys! We have a problem!" said Koki as everyone else gathers around at the monitor, "The lake is shrinking and the flamingo chicks are crowding together!"

"And that's not the worst of it," said Aviva as a Marabou stork, vultures, a black-backed jackal, and a spotted hyena arrive to the scene to wait for the lake to dry out completely to go after the vulnerable flamingo chicks.

"Shrimpy!" Jimmy shouted all worried.

"We have to save them!" said Aviva, "Jimmy, get the Createrra ready while I prepare us some suits to protect us from the dangerous soda water."

"On it," said Jimmy as he runs to grab the keys and start up the Tortuga's main vehicle.

"Brandon, I'm gonna need your help preparing the suits," Aviva commanded, "Koki, what's the status?"

"The lake is shrinking even more," said Koki, "Almost the reaching distance of the Marabou stork's beak."

The vapor buildup from the lake concentrated and traveled straight toward the Tortuga.

"We're all set!" said Aviva with the rest of the team in the Chassy, suited up in corrosion-resistant suits.

"To the Creature Rescue!" they said as they open the garage to leave. But by the time they are out, the vapor hits them, damaging both the Createrra and the Tortuga.

"Oh no!" Aviva shouted, "Close the garage! Quick!"

Jimmy frantically closes the garage door on the Tortuga.

"Oh, the sodium carbonated water vapor is damaging the Tortuga and the Createrra," said Aviva.

"Now how are we gonna save the flamingo chicks without a working vehicle?" Koki asked.

"We're still in our protective suits," said Jimmy, "Maybe we can gather them by hand."

"We can, but now we have figure out a way to blow away the soda water vapor from eating away the Tortuga," said Koki.

Back with the Kratt brothers, they follow the flock to another lake.

"Chris, another lake!" said Martin.

"And this one isn't a soda lake," said Chris, "Just plain freshwater."

The flamingoes gather in the lake to both wash themselves and then drink.

"I get it, so they frequently fly long distances to freshwater lakes to take baths and drink," said Chris.

"They can't do any of that in a soda lake," said Martin, "so they had to fly somewhere else to do so."

"And since the soda lake is corrosive, the parents can afford to leave their chicks behind," said Chris.

All of the sudden, they hear rustling in the bushes nearby.

"Martin, did you hear that?" Chris asked.

"Not so sure," said Martin, "But the flock seems to be nervous and are walking in that direction."

A troop of olive baboons appear and start grunting.

"Whoa, baboons!" said Chris.

"I heard baboons will eat about anything," said Martin, "Even flamingoes."

"It's okay, baboons usually don't like water," said Chris, "So they can't swim after the flamingoes."

The dominant male runs and jumps off a rock into the flock of flamingoes. The flamingoes evaded the baboon's advances.

"But this troop does," said Martin as he and Chris try to move with the flock, "I think we should deactivate!"

"But if we did that, we'll scare away the birds, causing more problems," said Chris.

"And if we don't figure something out, we'll become part of the problem!" said Martin.

The baboons continue their assault and the flamingoes keep avoiding their attacks. Hot Pink gets caught by one of the baboons.

"Hot Pink, no!" Martin shouted.

"Let's save her," said Chris.

"To the Creature Rescue!" said the brothers.

"Hey baboon, you really don't want to eat that flamingo," said Martin talking to the baboon, "I mean I can assure you that a bird that spends its living in soda water isn't going to taste any good."

"MARTIN LOOK OUT!" Chris warned Martin as more baboons try to pounce on him.

Martin manages to evade.

"Nice moves, bro, but try to be careful," said Chris who then gets captured by a baboon.

"Chris, no!" said Martin who also then gets captured by another baboon.

The baboons examine the brothers' Creature Power Suit.

"Hey guys, I wouldn't press that button if I were you," said Martin.

The baboons press the button and the brothers turn back into their human selves, which scared them and made them run away with the few flamingoes they captured.

"Well, that takes care of the baboon problem," said Martin, "And Hot Pink is safe."

Hot Pink and the rest of the flock fly off.

"Oh no, we must've scared them off with our human form," said Chris, "Now how are we supposed to head back?"

_Back with the others…_

"The ventilation is all set and lined with nitrile and latex," said Koki, "Ready the system!"

"Ready," said Jimmy who presses a button on a machine that sucks up all of the vapor and collects it in its liquid form in a large, glass jar.

"Great, it works," said Aviva using her modified electronic guinea fowl to collect some of the flamingo chicks, "How's everything going over there, honey?"

"Got my hands full here," said Brandon who was both collecting the flamingo chicks and warding off the predators with his bo staff on a buzz bike.

The hyena grabs his bo staff with its powerful jaws.

"Whoa! Strong jaw pressure, alright," said Brandon tug-o-warring with the hyena.

Brandon then splits his staff into a tri-section staff to better combat the hyena and the hyena retreats.

"Don't worry Shrimy, we'll keep you safe until your mom gets back," said Aviva.

"Well she better hurry, because the Sun is starting to come down at the moment," said Koki.

"Wait, the Sun is coming down?" Aviva wondered, "That must mean the weather is starting to cool down! Jimmy! Release all the water back into the lake!"

"Yes Aviva," said Jimmy who presses a button that releases all the once gaseous lake water back into the lake.

The predators leave after seeing the lake water come back and the Wild Kratts team returned the flamingo chicks.

"There you go, Shrimpy," said Aviva.

"Boy, oh boy. Being a flamingo is harder than it may seem," said Koki.

"And here comes the parents," said Jimmy watching the adult flamingoes fly back to their respective nests.

Hot Pink returns to her nest to feed Shrimpy and then rest.

"Yup, life is back to normal," said Jimmy.

"But where are the Kratt brothers?" Brandon asked.

Aviva's Creature Pod beeps and she picks it up to see the Kratt brothers.

"Hey, guys," said Chris through the Creature Pod, "We ran into some problems and now we sorta need a lift."

"Can you, please?" said Martin, "We just got deactivated!"

"I wish we could," said Aviva, "But as you can see, we need to repair the Tortuga, first. It'll be a while until I can get the Tortuga up and running so that it can fly over."

"Oh," the brothers signed.

Everyone laughs.


End file.
